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The hangar houses Aces Aviation, a flight school where many students were learning to fly. The facility is about 30 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.

"It's a setback," Sam Scriva of Aces Aviation said. "Right now our students are going to be held up with their flying until we can sort through the mess."

Desks, office equipment and some vehicles were destroyed in the fire. A few privately owned planes were not damaged.

Firefighters from at least eight companies were called in to help get the blaze under control. Crews faced several challenges and had to bring in tankers to help douse the flames.

"Getting access to it, because of the nature of the structure and the way it was compartmentalized inside with offices, it was a challenge," said Mike Johnston, Deputy Fire Chief with the Chippewa Township Fire Department.

County 911 dispatchers say the fire was reported at 2:49 a.m. Tuesday. A sheriff deputy spotted the smoke and called for help.

Nobody was hurt or inside the building at the time of the fire. Power was lost throughout the entire airport.

"We're still able to operate our tower operates off of a generator so they're still able to do air traffic control," said Beth LaValle, Beaver County Airport manager.

The cause of the blaze at the Beaver County Airport wasn't immediately clear. The State Police Fire Marshal is investigating.